Cañon City School District superintendent: An upgrade for the district

Cañon City School District has placed an operations override question November's ballot. This is question 3A. Approval of this override will update instructional resources, attract and retain highly qualified employees, improve safety and maintenance of facilities, provide personal technology devices for each student and expand preschool services

If 3A passes, we will be able to purchase and place an electronic device in the hands of every student to supplement their learning, starting with all high school students in fall 2018. The district will maintain and support these devices and upgrade them on a regular cycle for a period of 10 years. Doing this will also make it easier for us to replace outdated instructional materials because digital curriculum costs less to purchase, is more engaging for students and is easier to update. Achieving these two priorities will use half of the additional operations dollars provided through the override on an annual basis.

Remaining override funds will allow us to address annual building maintenance and safety needs so we can get the most out of our facilities investments. Funds also will be used to align employee compensation packages with those of other districts in our region so we can attract and retain the best educators and support staff to work with our children. A final area of focus will be to support services provided to Cañon City's preschool children. Passage of 3A means an additional $85,000 per year can be committed to enhance preschool learning opportunities and increase the number of children we serve.

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Cañon City Schools has been unable to tackle these priorities outlined in question 3A because of significant funding cuts suffered at the hands of the 2008 recession. Though revenue has grown by the rate of inflation over the past several years, it has not, and likely never will, replace the $3.5 million annual cut that first hit us in 2011. To add resources the district has pursued a string of unsustainable gifts, grants, and donations that are limited in the scope of their use and not always aligned with our greatest needs.

Since 2011, the Board of Education has delicately balanced paying just enough in salaries to attract personnel to fill job openings, investing just enough to keep technology systems operating at a minimal level, allocating just enough funds to keep buildings usable, while reducing the number of children that can be served through its preschool program partnership.

If 3A is voted down, our students, many who do not have access to modern digital devices and the internet, will continue to fall behind their peers in the use of technology for learning and career opportunities. They'll continue to be taught using outdated curriculum materials. Hiring highly qualified teachers and support staff will become even more difficult than it is already, and so we'll continue to lose highly trained and effective employees to school systems who compensate them at a higher rate. Finally, fewer of our most needy preschool age children have received the services they desperately need to start school on an even footing.

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